Wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like what i'm getting. I do a couple of interval sessions on the bikes at the gym during the week (lunch break), and commute by bike most days (5km each way). I have a pretty good idea of how hard i can push myself these days and still make it through the session. I'm sweating a lot more than i used to (am now 34, and a bit chubbier than i have been), i'm chalking this up to a bit of lard over my entire body between the skin and muscle keeping me warmer, so needing to sweat more to cool down.

I find if i push myself to a certain level i'm recovering fine, i'll be stuffed after the workout, but not truly belted like i can be if i give it that last 5% effort.

Occasionally i'll decide i'm feeling good, so for a couple of the intervals i'll up the resistance even more to push myself harder than normal and give it 100%, when i do this, i'm finding my recovery is different. Firstly let me say i am staying hydrated, and i'm doing an adequate warm up. I feel hot for days afterwards, i'll still be sweating lightly on my brow 3-4 hours after the workout, i'll wake up the next day feeling a bit hot. I sometimes get a (heat?) rash on my forehead a few days later too, it gets itchy and the skin gets all rough, will take a week or two to settle down. I'll feel hot for days, like i did a hard one on Monday and today there's still a remnant of "heat" in my head and core today.

Not sure what is happening, it doesn't seem critical, but i've not experienced this in the past. Maybe it's just that i'm getting older, and my body can't take the same punishment as it used to? I might need to build up more slowly instead of sometimes pushing myself to the limit, but i want to be able to do this!

Any ideas what might be going on? I'm going to see my GP next week anyway, so will ask him.. but i'm pretty sure he'll just tell me i need to take it a little easier if i'm having this reaction.

Actually, no idea, so a GP visit is best, but it's my experience that belting the km's on the bike keeps your metabolic rate up there. My partner still complains that I'm like a furnace to sleep alongside (hot hot, geddit?, nudge nudge) and I regularly wander around in shorts and T-Shirt when she is rugged up on a cool evening.

5km is not a short ride. If you are overweight, then aim for weight reduction first. Don't push excessively until you've lost all the excess and have the physique to train for fitness. Pushing too hard without the physique to do so can be detrimental and sometimes puts you at risk.

Fair comment. Actually i've exaggerated a little, I'm not really "fat", just have a bit of lard on me compared to if i was in prime condition.. maybe 4-5kg overweight at 81kg. And i've been commuting to work for 4 years, so generally my bike fitness is ok. I do stay active in general, the overheating thing is a little worrying because i'm not super unfit.

I have similar issues. I find the best remedy is to have a tepid or cool shower after the workout.

With me, it also exhibits as difficulty getting to sleep / remaining asleep because my metabolism stays elevated and I run hot unless I lose the body heat prior to bed with the cool shower. I deal with it by trying to fit the heavy workout in the morning, when the elevated metabolism is an asset, and keep the intensity dialled way down in the evening. Unfortunately, with my current work schedule that's not practical midweek. So a quick cool shower when I get home works best.

The heat rash in my case is a sensitivity to perspiration... possibly an allergy to my own sweat. I get dry patches of skin which then flake off... sometimes in sheets. This kind of allergy is a known condition, although I don't know what it's called. If I rinse my face off thoroughly after the workout the rash doesn't start. If I forget and leave it overnight, no amount of antibiotics, moisturiser, or barrier creams will stop it, and I need a presciption steroid (Desowen) to get it under control as the normal 1% over-the-counter steroid creams won't touch it. I was told by two independent specialists it was seborrheic dermatitis, which has a genetic basis, but I'm questioning that diagnosis now.

I hope this is useful.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. -- Galatians 6:9 ESV

Thanks all for the advice, Trailgumby, i tried cooler water in the shower and it seemed to work a bit.I'm also drinking 3-4 coffee's in the morning before i go to the gym which might be a bit much.am making myself drink a litre of water before i go to the gym now to see if that helps.

reckon the heat rash is a reaction to my sweat too, i didn't rinse my face when i arrived home the day before yesterdya, and now i have the rash, but other days i have been rinsing and not getting any rash.

Exercise related rash can be due to sweat glands clogged with dead skin or bacteria, and the sweat perfusing into the skin layers and irritating things. If the rash is symmetrical across your forehead, you might consider experimenting by applying various treatments to one side only i.e. when you don't have the rash, regularly use an antibacterial soap on the one side, then rub light to moderately with a skin abraser to remove dead skin and bacteria, then apply an antibacterial powder before bed.

I'd still suggest you look at your diet especially the % fat, which when high is more likely to slow lymphatic drainage and circulation through the skin and sweat glands. Fat in the form of lipids can be a constituent of sweat. Protein in the form of amino acids can also be present in sweat and is a food source for some bacteria.

5km is not a short ride. If you are overweight, then aim for weight reduction first. Don't push excessively until you've lost all the excess and have the physique to train for fitness. Pushing too hard without the physique to do so can be detrimental and sometimes puts you at risk.

janus77 wrote:Thanks all for the advice, Trailgumby, i tried cooler water in the shower and it seemed to work a bit.I'm also drinking 3-4 coffee's in the morning before i go to the gym which might be a bit much.am making myself drink a litre of water before i go to the gym now to see if that helps.

I'm no expert I think you're on track with the extra fluid intake.

I used to have the same issues, in fact on 2 occasions on very hot days I have gotten so bad I could not get my body temp down.

Bottom line, dehydration. What I thought was hydrated was no where near what was needed.

Weigh yourself before you exercises and then after, what you have lost is pretty much fluid. I can lose a couple of kilos after riding for a few hours even though I'm drinking water. The other thing to consider is that if you lose a litre of fluid through sweat, drinking a litre of fluid will only replace a portion of it.

Some people are like Slinkies, they're really good for nothing..

..But they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs!

No one has mentioned I think that the sweat response is conditioned by training. If I am getting fitter I would expect to sweat more and it will be less salty, and the red face is less noticeable. It can be an individual thing though.I have also found , as mentioned.. probably near the overtraining end of things, that I get odd hot flushes out of the blue. It has happened a couple of times over the years to the point where we have joked about menopause On another topic really , after ross river virus I found for at least a year that anaerobic work really knocked me up. I would be fine if I didn't get the heart rate up too high.All the best with it

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